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iflix Secures Additional $133 Million Funding, Led by Hearst

Published on 08.07.17

Follows successful global rollout of its service in emerging markets

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KUALA
LUMPUR, 7 AUGUST 2017 – iflix, the world’s leading
Subscription Video on Demand (SVoD) service for emerging markets, today
announced it has completed a $133 million funding round as it continues to
deliver on its vision of bringing the world’s best entertainment to its
audiences.

The
funding round, which attracted significant interest from both new investors and
existing shareholders, was led by Hearst, one of America’s largest diversified
media, information and services companies, and also included additional new
investors Singapore-based EDBI and clients of DBS private bank. Existing
shareholders Evolution Media, Sky PLC, Catcha Group, Liberty Global, Jungle
Ventures and PLDT Inc. also increased their investments.

Since
going live in May 2015, iflix rapidly established a clear leadership
position in emerging markets, setting a new standard for delivering a
world-class streaming entertainment service, passionately focused on local
customer experiences. Over the last 12 months, the service has seen
extraordinary growth across all segments of the business, expanding from four
markets to 20 across Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The company has
additionally built deep integrated distribution partnerships with 27 leading
telecommunications operators to bundle the iflix service with customers’ mobile
and data subscriptions, all sponsored by the telecommunications provider.

During
the period, iflix also achieved tremendous growth across subscriber numbers and
engagement by 3x and 2x respectively, and recorded some of the highest average
active mobile viewing durations of any service in the world at 2.5-2.75 hours
per session. The company saw 230 percent growth in year on year revenue. The
company’s commitment to localization also increased, producing 26,000 hours of
subtitles in nine languages, with locally-curated content in every market.
iflix’s full content library showcases thousands of award-winning and iconic
first run programs and library content from over 230 studio partners in 30
countries.

The new
round brings total funding raised by iflix this calendar year to an excess of
$220 million. Proceeds from the round will be used to invest in its local
content strategy. iflix recently unveiled its first exclusive original
production, Oi Jaga Mulut, an audacious, uncensored, no holds barred stand-up
comedy series, which since debuting in Malaysia last week, has skyrocketed to
the leading show on the service. Partnering with TVOne, iflix also launched
live premiere football streaming, available for the first time in Indonesia, which
immediately became one of the highest performing shows there with more than
34,000 unique viewers tuning in the first week of airing. Last week, iflix
Philippines announced its collaboration with the Philippines’ Queen of All
Media, Kris Aquino, to commission an original drama series.

iflix co-founder
and Group CEO Mark Britt said: “We are thrilled to welcome Hearst President and
CEO Steven Swartz and Hearst Entertainment & Syndication President Neeraj
Khemlani to the iflix family. As iflix continues to grow and pioneer new ways
for consumers to enjoy entertainment on their terms, we were looking for a
partner who could bring additional expertise and knowledge to our business.
Hearst is a leading investor and has many of the world’s most innovative and iconic
video brands, including ESPN, A+E Networks, Vice, AwesomenessTV, Complex and
more. This collaboration significantly deepens our bench of experts with our
longstanding partners Evolution Media, Sky and Liberty Global to help drive
iflix’s continuing growth.”

“From the
beginning, our vision for iflix has been to build a word-class service for the
local customer, transforming the way everyday consumers enjoy entertainment in
emerging markets. These new funds will allow us to further execute on our local
content strategy and expand our technology and development teams so we can
continue to rapidly evolve the iflix service to meet the unique challenges of
emerging markets,” continued Britt.

President
of Hearst Entertainment & Syndication Neeraj Khemlani said: “iflix is
riding the wave of exponential growth of the middle class in emerging markets
that want more access to premium regional, local and Western content. We look
forward to working with our new partners Sky, Liberty Global, Evolution Media
and Catcha Group, as well as emerging market telcos, to support iflix’s
innovative founders and management team in their rapid expansion plans.”

Founding
shareholders Evolution Media and Catcha Group have participated in all
preceding capital raisings and further increased their support this round.

Evolution
Media, Managing Partner Rick Hess said: ““As a founding partner of iflix, Evolution
Media, along with Catcha Group and Mark, were inspired by the opportunity to
reach the ‘next’ 1bn consumers. The phenomenal growth of iflix has
challenged many of the preconceptions we have in Hollywood about how
entertainment is consumed in emerging markets around the world and it's
fascinating to see iflix learn, scale and forge this new path.”

Catcha
Group Co-founder and Group CEO Patrick Grove commented: “Today marks the next
step in our journey in creating a category defining company that revolutionizes
the way people in emerging markets consume and enjoy content. Since launching
in May 2015, iflix has consistently delivered an exceptionally high-value
service with strong, unparalleled focus on customer experience.”

iflix was advised by Moelis
& Company LLC, Delta Partners and Herbert Smith Freehills on the
transaction.

ABOUT IFLIX

iflix is the world’s leading
Subscription Video on Demand (SVoD) service, offering users unlimited access to
thousands of TV shows and movies from all over the world. With a huge
selection of your favorite comedies, drama, K-drama, cartoons plus
movies from Hollywood, The U.K., Asia and more, iflix places the
entertainment you want at your fingertips. For one low monthly
fee, iflix subscribers can watch on their mobile phone, laptop,
tablet, TV wherever, whenever. iflix is currently available to consumers
in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Brunei, Sri Lanka, Pakistan,
Myanmar, Vietnam, the Maldives, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq,
Lebanon, Egypt, Sudan and Cambodia. Let’s play.

ABOUT HEARST

Hearst is one of the
nation's largest diversified media, information and services companies with
more than 360 businesses. Its major interests include ownership in cable
television networks such as A&E, HISTORY, Lifetime and ESPN; majority
ownership of global ratings agency Fitch Group; Hearst Health, a group of medical
information and services businesses; 30 television stations such as WCVB-TV in
Boston and KCRA-TV in Sacramento, Calif., which reach a combined 19 percent of
U.S. viewers; newspapers such as the Houston Chronicle, San Francisco
Chronicle and Albany Times Union, nearly 300 magazines around the
world including Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper'sBAZAAR and Car
and Driver; digital services businesses such as iCrossing and KUBRA; and
investments in emerging digital and video companies such as BuzzFeed, Vice,
Complex Networks and AwesomenessTV. Follow us on Twitter @HearstLive and @Hearst, and subscribe to Hearstlink.

ABOUT EVOLUTION MEDIA

Evolution Media
(Evolution) is an investment company that partners with entertainment,
lifestyle, media, sports, and technology companies. Leveraging relationships
with its founding members—TPG Growth, Creative Artists Agency (CAA), and
Participant Media—Evolution is uniquely able to identify companies that will
disrupt and shape these industries. Based in Los Angeles, with offices
in New York and Beijing, Evolution operates at key global
intersections of entertainment and technology. Its portfolio spans a range of
geographies and industries, including virtual reality companies such as Jaunt
and Wevr, gaming platforms such as Scopely, leading content providers such as
iFlix, and iconic consumer brands.

ABOUT CATCHA GROUP

Catcha Group is Southeast Asia's
leading Internet group. The Group has made growth equity and venture capital
investments in new media, online classifieds, and OTT businesses across the
emerging world. Our portfolio companies have successfully completed four IPOs on
the ASX and one IPO on Bursa Malaysia. The Group holds over 60 investments,
either directly or indirectly, as sole, majority or minority shareholders.

The Group was established in
2004 and is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.